Tolls To Rise Jan. 1 On Carquinez, Benicia-Martinez Bridges

MARTINEZ, CA — The Bay Area Toll Authority reminded drivers this week that tolls on the region’s seven state-owned toll bridges, including the Benicia-Martinez Bridge and the Carquinez Bridge, will go up by $1 on Jan. 1, 2022.

It marks the second of three $1 toll increases approved by the California Legislature in 2017 through state Senate Bill 595 and by Bay Area voters in June 2018 through Regional Measure 3. The first of these toll hikes went into effect Jan. 1, 2019, and the last of the Regional Measure 3 toll increases takes effect Jan. 1, 2025.

Starting Jan. 1, 2022, regular tolls for two-axle cars and trucks, as well as for motorcycles, rise from $6 to $7 at the San Francisco-Oakland Bay, Antioch, Benicia-Martinez, Carquinez, Dumbarton, Richmond-San Rafael and San Mateo-Hayward bridges.

Tolls for vehicles with three or more axles also rise by $1 Jan. 1, 2022, at all seven of the state-owned toll bridges: to $17 for three axles, $22 for four-axles, $27 for five axles, $32 for six axles, and $37 for combinations with seven or more axles.

Because a legal challenge to SB 595 and Regional Measure 3 remains pending before the California Supreme Court, the Jan. 1, 2022 toll increase, when collected, will be placed into an escrow account managed by an independent trustee, the Bay Area Toll Authority — BATA — said in a news release this week.

Revenue from the 2019 toll increase is also being held in escrow. If BATA prevails in the litigation, the funds will be applied to BATA-approved programs.

Major projects in the Regional Measure 3 expenditure plan include:

— Improvements to State Route 37 in the North Bay;

— Freeway interchange improvements in Alameda, Contra Costa and Solano counties;

— The purchase of more new BART cars;

— Extension of the BART system from Berryessa to downtown San Jose and Santa Clara;

— Extension of the Caltrain corridor to the Salesforce Transit Center in downtown San Francisco;

— Expansion of Muni’s transit vehicle fleet;

— Expansion of San Francisco Bay Ferry service and more frequent transbay bus service;

— A direct freeway connector from northbound U.S. 101 in Marin County to the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge;

— Upgrades to the Dumbarton Bridge corridor; and

— Extension of the SMART rail system to Windsor and Healdsburg in Sonoma County.

BATA administers toll revenues from the Bay Area's seven state-owned toll bridges, while toll revenues from the Golden Gate Bridge are administered by the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District. The two agencies joined to operate a single regional FasTrak® customer service center in San Francisco.

New FasTrak® customers can obtain toll tags at hundreds of Walgreens and Costco stores around the Bay Area, according to a list of participating locations posted on the Bay Area FasTrak® website.